JACKSON, Miss., Nov. 30, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Entergy Mississippi, Inc. has completed the purchase of the Hinds Energy Facility, a modern, 450 megawatt natural gas-fired power plant located in Jackson. The acquisition, which took place earlier today, will boost the utility's electric generation capacity and offer significant savings for its customers.

"This is good news for our customers," said Haley Fisackerly, Entergy Mississippi president and CEO. "Because the facility is within Entergy Mississippi's service area and was acquired at an attractive price, all of our customers will benefit from the plant."

Entergy Mississippi bought the plant from KGen Hinds LLC for approximately $206 million, a sizeable discount to the cost to construct a comparable facility. The purchase provides the opportunity for the company's customers to realize significant cost savings. Plans to acquire the Hinds plant were first announced in 2011.

"This is a sound investment and an important part of our commitment to meet the growing energy needs of our customers now and in the future," said Fisackerly. "This facility is highly efficient and uses clean-burning natural gas, a fuel in abundant supply today in Mississippi."

The plant purchase is Entergy Mississippi's first since 2006 and supports the company's strategy of providing reliable electric service at the lowest reasonable cost. Low cost power and ample energy supply will also make the city and state more competitive in attracting new or expanded business and industry to the state. The Hinds plant is an environmentally friendly resource, and its addition to Entergy Mississippi will make one of the cleanest-burning utility generation fleets in the country even cleaner.

Entergy Mississippi, Inc. provides electricity to more than 437,000 customers in 45 counties. It is a subsidiary of Entergy Corporation. Entergy Corporation is an integrated energy company engaged primarily in electric power production and retail distribution operations. Entergy owns and operates power plants with approximately 30,000 megawatts of electric generating capacity, including more than 10,000 megawatts of nuclear power, making it one of the nation's leading nuclear generators. Entergy delivers electricity to 2.8 million utility customers in Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas. Entergy has annual revenues of more than $11 billion and approximately 15,000 employees.